Two Mid-Priced Hotels to Add 510 New Rooms Near the Convention Center

The Hub is set to become a top convention destination as two hotel projects broke ground last week on D Street in South Boston Waterfront, directly across from the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

The Hub is set to become a top convention destination as two hotel projects broke ground last week on D Street in the South Boston Waterfront, directly across from the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

Aloft Hotel and Element Hotel – South Boston Waterfront

Mayor Thomas Menino, Mayor-elect Marty Walsh and representatives of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA), CV Properties and Starwood Hotels & Resorts attended a joint groundbreaking ceremony for the new mid-priced hotels that will add 510 rooms not only to the area near the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center but to the city as a whole.

“This is the first of several groundbreakings we hope take place as we push Boston and Massachusetts towards being among the top meeting and convention destinations in the world”, said MCCA Executive Director James Rooney in a press statement.

The two privately owned and constructed hotels—an Aloft Hotel with 330 guest rooms and an 180-room extended stay Element Hotel—will be built on land acquired by the MCCA and commercial real estate development and investment company CV Properties of Boston along with Starwood Hotels and Ares Management as major equity partner.

According to Boston.com, the $140 million projects located at 371-401 D Street were approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority in May this year as the first phase of the $2 billion expansion of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Both hotels are expected to open in 2015.

The Aloft-branded hotel will be a modern style building with fewer amenities specifically designed for short stays and targeting the younger generation of travelers. The hotel building will also include a business center, meeting rooms and retail space on the ground floor.

The Element Hotel will operate as a duplex-like, extended stay hotel providing a larger pool of amenities such as kitchen space, fitness center, bike-share and recreation spaces.

The MCCA estimates that the two hotels will generate more than $5 million in annual taxes after opening, as well as 370 construction jobs and 175 permanent jobs.